India ends 2017 with nearly 1.2 billion telephone subscribers

The number of telephone subscribers in India declined to 1.19 billion users in the quarter ended 31 December 2017, from 1.20 billion at the end of September 2017. India’s telephone customer base decreased by 1.33 percent quarter-on-quarter, but grew by 3.38 percent year-on-year. The overall teledensity in India also decreased from 93.40 in September to 91.90 in December 2017, according to a report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI).

Subscription in Urban Areas decreased from 704.89 million in September 2017 to 688.25 million at end-December, while urban teledensity also fell from 173.15 to 168.29. However, rural subscription increased from 501.82 million to 502.42 million, and Rural teledensity slightly declined from 56.71 to 56.66.

India’s total mobile (GSM+CDMA) subscriber base declined from 1.183 billion at end-Septembere to 1.167 billion at end-December 2017, which represents a quarterly decline rate of 1.32 percent. However, the year-on-year growth rate of mobile subscribers for December 2017 was 3.55 percent. Mobile teledensity fell from 91.56 at the end of September to 90.11 at 31 December 2017.

India’s fixed-line subscriber base fell from 23.67 million at end-September to 23.23 million at end-December 2017, registering a quarterly decline of 1.84 percent. The year-on-year decline rate in the number of fixed-line subscribers for December 2017 was 4.79 percent. Fixed teledensity dropped from 1.83 at the end of September to 1.79 at 31 December.

The total number of internet subscribers increased from 429.23 million at end-September to 445.96 million at end-December, with a quarterly growth rate of 3.90 percent. Of these, 21.28 million were fixed internet users and 424.67 million were wireless internet subscribers. India had 362.87 million broadband internet users at end-December 2017, up from 324.89 million in September 2017.